“Not too many guys hit this guy anyway, but the lefties really don’t fare too well,” Porter said. “We’re going to try to run all those righties at him and see if we can create some offense off of arguably one of the best pitchers in our league.”

Matt Dominguez moved to the cleanup spot while All-Star catcher Jason Castro, a lefthanded batter, was out of the lineup. Rookie Cody Clark made his second career start behind the plate.

“Jason normally hits in the four spot,” Porter said. “Dominguez had been hitting five. So you pretty much jump everybody up one with Castro coming out of the lineup with Sale going today. Dominguez has been doing a tremendous job with men in scoring position and coming up with big hits.”

If given the chance, the Astros will attempt to manufacture runs by attempting to steal bases.

“You look at (Sales’) arsenal,” Porter said. “He’s a strikeout pitcher. Very rare does he give up three consecutive hits. You’re going to have to do everything that you can to try to create some offense and take some chances just because he’s a dominant guy. You can’t just sit around and wait for a three-run home run or think that you’re going to hit a double or a guy’s going to score from first on a double.”